Shweta Kalla Baxi, Sarthak Gaurav, Usha Ananthakumar
We find that adult children co-residing with their parents are more likely than their siblings residing elsewhere to be reported as owners of parental household property. The association is stronger among wealthier households and older parents.
INTRODUCTION: Family is an important source of intergenerational support for older adults in Indian society due to strong norms of filial obligation embedded within the kinship system. However, as urbanization and migration affect the feasibility of traditional intergenerational support arrangements, incentive-based mechanisms may play an important role in shaping intergenerational support. Against this backdrop, this paper examines whether residential proximity to parents is associated with ownership of parental household assets.
METHODS: We use data from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) and a conditional fixed-effects logit model to compare siblings within the same family with respect to proximity to their parents and their ownership of parental household property.
RESULTS: We find that adult children co-residing with their parents are more likely than their siblings residing elsewhere to be reported as owners of parental household property. The association is stronger among wealthier households and older parents.
DISCUSSION: These findings are consistent with an exchange-based interpretation of intergenerational support and suggest that such considerations may coexist with strong norms of informal support.
JEL CODES: D64, J14, G51.